Fate's Hand
by Wolf Tailed Alchemist
Summary: [Post Movie] Ed is depressed, Al has a cat, and they are still in Germany! But, very soon, Fate's Hand, or Truth, will change that! EdXWinry AlXOC, rated for cussing and fluff. Kinda insane yet still sometimes serious! Read more to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Alright! Another Fanfiction! Okay, it's set like one and a half decades after the movie, and we all know that the ending sucked for all those EdXWinry fans out there. So here's what I think should happen later in the movie. Oh, The first segment is what the Elric brothers havve been doing for the past few years, just thought you should know. Oh, yeah! This is my first OC! Her name's Kath and you'd beter be nice to her or you will feel the hatred of Mittens! It's based mostly on the Anime, but the second chapter will have Truth in it (that freaky guy at the gate/door) Oh, almost forgot- I don't own FMA! If I did, things would of ended differently!**

The Famous Elric Brothers had successfully found the Atom bomb in America and warned the Americans of the impending war. They had a conference with the president at the time, Calvin Coolidge, but he did not cooperate, kicking the out of his office and calling them insane. The brothers went back to Germany, only to find Hitler 'Chancellor' of Germany. The two brothers decided to go back and try again, and found out there was a new president- Teddy Roosevelt. The US was now in an economic depression (no thanks to Hoover) and he didn't want to spend loads of money for a new war. He had agreed to send troops to Germany and Poland to free the already growing numbers of Jews in the concentration camps and assassinated Hitler, thus making the Axis fall apart and ending the war. The soldier who killed Hitler was **(you guessed it) **the one and only, Edward Elric, in his new US army uniform.

As soon as they had warned good ol' Teddy about the impending war, he offered the two brothers slot in the US army, to 'make a name for themselves.' Ed refused with a 'like HELL', but Al talked him into it. Ed agreed on the terms that Al had a safe place to stay, which Roosevelt said yes to, immediately. You see, the President figured that Ed had a strong determination and will, as soon as he saw Ed's strange golden eyes. Eyes that burnt like fire. **(Aren't I original?)**

Al stayed with the alternate Winry **(Funny coincidence, eh?)**, but didn't need much attention being twenty five and all. Al enjoyed his time with the alternate Winry, who was a doctor and ran a free clinic in Queens, where all of the immigrants lived. Al went to the clinic daily with Winry and started to learn the trade. Before Ed got back to the US, Al had successfully saved many, many lives. And one of those lives being Kathrin Jana, whom he fell in love with at once.

Anyone caught dead calling her Kathrin, though, would soon feel her fury. Kath, as she liked to be called, was from Germany and came to the US at about the same time as the two brothers did, and they soon found out they came on the same boat, though they were sure they never saw her until the end of their journey, when she had been found by the cook, pilfering food from the stores. The boys found out that she had been stowing away for the two weeks, and had run out of food the day before. Al pleaded Ed to help her, and Ed finally caved in when Al said he would get a cat and name it Mustang. Ed, being short and all **(don't tell him I said that)**, ran through the security with ease, and grabbed Kath with a hard tug on the arm. Al, providing back up, laid out all of the guards, and ran after his brother and his future girlfriend. After giving Kath a free meal, they ran off without ask her name, without her asking theirs. But later, by fate's invisible hand, they met again.

When Ed came home from the war, he was broken, and in more ways than one. He pined for _his_ Winry, because he didn't get to saying what he wanted to say. His automail arm was twisted around, up to the wrist, but he refused to use the prosthetics Earth had to offer. In a way, it was his remaining connection to _his_ Winry, and there was no way in hell that he was letting go of it. He withdrew from everyone, including Al, and he was sinking farther and farther in depression. He stopped combing his hair and had stopped shaving, and now he was to the point he looked like his father. And he absolutely loathed that. But, it was all going to change, for Fate's hand, or Truth, has decided it was time for the boys to go home.

* * *

"…d… Ed…. EDWARD!!" 

Ed woke with a start and glared at whoever woke him up, for his dreams were the only times he was ever happy. His dulled and broken golden eyes were glazed over with sleep, but he could still make out Alphonse's greenish-brown eyes and his light brown hair. Al looked at his brother, with a giant grin on his face. Ed tried to say 'what' but it came out as "Umpf… wha?"

Al, being bouncy and hyper as always, jumped closer to Ed and grabbed his shoulders. Ed, now fully awake because of the bodily contact asked, and not too nicely, "What in God's name do you think you're doing, Alphonse?!" Al returned Ed's furry scowl with a mischievous grin, with only a bit of peach fuzz on his chin that he was immensely proud of. Al had let his hair grow long again, and wore it in a ponytail, to his brother's ever present dismay. Al had taken to wearing baggy cargo pants and a long sleeved collared shirt rolled up to the elbows when he wasn't in his doctor's clothes.

"Well, Edward," he emphasized the 'Edward' in a mock serious voice that sounded too close to Ed's voice for his liking. "_You're_ going to get out of that bathrobe, then _you're_ going to take a shower, then _you're_ going to shave and put some decent clothes on. 'Kay?" Al punctuated each "_You're" _by poking Ed's thinning stomach. Al's voice had gotten deeper and manlier and it sounded like someone who was used to giving orders, but in a nice way. Al, now much taller than Ed, because of a last minute growth spurt, picked up Ed from under his armpits, and hefted him to the bathroom.

They were living on the nicer side of Queens, in house across the street from Dr. Winry that Alphonse bought with his own money. Al, Kath, Ed, and a cat named Mittens lived in the two bedroom, one bath house. **(Common realtor jargon) **Al, feeling bad for Ed, let him have the back room. Ed shared the room with Mittens, a cat Al had gotten as a kitten from one of his patients. Thank God it was already named, or Al would have called it Roy to annoy Ed. The only reason Ed put on the whole I-hate-Roy-so-don't-call-the-cat-that-act was because anything with a name from Amestris reminded him of home so it reminded it of Winry. **(That's a mouthful) **The cat absolutely hated him.If Ed got even ten feet away from that cat, the evil ball of grey-blue would try and murder him. Ed wouldn't open up to anyone, except for Al and, amazingly, Kath.

* * *

Now that Ed was in the bathroom, he heard a strange hissing/growling sound. "Oh, CRAP!" he almost screamed. Suddenly, a flash of grayish-blue fur came barreling towards his face. 

MEEOOOOOOWWWW HIIISSSSSSSSSSS!

GOD DAMN IT!

Ed reached towards the door, unable to see because of the furry ball of kitty fury was trying to claw out his eyes. The door was locked. Ed let out a stream of curses that would have made a sailor blush. Ed called out, "ALPHONSE, GET YOUR FUCKING CAT OFF OF ME!" Alphonse, at the door with Kath, stifled a giggle, and muffled his voice "Uh, sorry Brother, can't hear you, in the kitchen!" Another stream of curses. A bang of the bathroom cupboard. Then complete silence.

Kath and Al exchanged WTF? Looks. Then the shower started, and Kath and Al sighed in relief. Alphonse said "I hope he didn't kill the cat." Then Kath burst out laughing, and Al had to join in. Kath's laugh was usually silent, but if it something was funny enough… Well, some people have said she sounded like a donkey. Kath despised dresses of all kinds, and would only were a skirt if she absolutely had to. She usually was dressed in big, oversized blue overalls that she'd pull down the upper part so that it showed her undershirt. When she wasn't going to work, which was at a boat builder's, she wore a tight undershirt and baggy jeans, because she liked to be different. Kath liked to wear black combat boots with clips that jingled, and they almost looked like Ed's, except for the fact they didn't have any red. She had dirty blonde hair and deep brown eyes that changed color depending on her mood. When she was happy, she wore a face splitting smile, but when she was thinking, she tended to frown. Kath was sometimes afraid of new thing and tried to stay invisible, but Al brought out the hyper and boisterous part out that was usually reserved for people she knew really well. The two lovers kissed and went their separate ways to get ready for the special morning. For that day was going to be a very special day indeed.

After tearing the rabid creature off of him, Ed put it in the cupboard where they usually kept the towels. The cat, Ed would've sworn, gave him the evil eye. Ed saw that there was a change of clothes already there for him. A collared shirt and khaki pants. "Going somewhere special, are we?" He grinned in spite of himself, and then saw his face in the mirror. There were only a few scratches, but they still hurt. He saw his tangled hair and the beginnings of a beard. He sighed and turned the shower on, deciding that he'd shave in the shower. **(My inner fangirl is going insane right now) **

Kath was cooking in the kitchen, when she spilled the milk. **(Don't cry over spilt milk XD)** "Well, I going to have to clean this up, aren't I?" she sighed. "Better go get some towels. She walked towards the bathroom, completely forgetting that Ed was in the shower, being the scatter brain she is. She turned the doorknob, and it popped upon being unlocked. "Eh? Al?" Ed called out completely oblivious that it was Kath in the bathroom. Kath eeped, and decided it was time to get out of the bathroom. But not without her towels. She opened the cupboard, and heard a yowl, as the cat ran out of the bathroom like a bat out of Hell. "Oh, shit." Kath whispered. Ed jumped, and in the process of jumping, nicked himself with the razor. **(Al trusts him with sharp objects?) **"Al?" he called out uncertainly. Ed pulled the shower curtain away, so he could peak out and see who was there.

Kath screamed.

Ed screamed right back at her.

Kath ran out of the bathroom panting and slammed the door. Thank God she had her towels. Who the hell was in the shower…? She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. Ed must've shaved and she didn't recognize him. "I should go in and say sorry." She mumbled to herself, her heart rate back to normal, but brain functions not. **(And I doubt they'll ever be) **She opened the door and said "God, Ed I'm sooo-" but she never got to finish her sentence.

"OUT!"

SLAM

"I'm really-"

"OUT!"

SLAM

"Ed, I'm really…"

Ed was blushing seven different shades of red, but Kath's face looked like a tomato. "Kathrin, Please, I'm trying to take a…" and then he didn't get to finish his sentence. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME, SHORTY?" Ed, temporarily deaf due to the high decibel of Kath's yelling, just stood there, with **(thank God)** a scrub brush instead of the razor. Then, he realized what she just said. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THEY'D DROWN IN A CENTIMETER OF WATER?" Then Ed threw the scrub brush with an aim that would have made _his _Winry proud.

THWACK

And, with a resounding thud, Kath's now unconscious body hit the floor. "Oh, shit, I think I killed her!" He panicked. He turned the water off with a swish, and ran to put his baby blue boxers on, thanking God that she was unconscious. Still dripping wet, he checked her pulse, and examined the growing lump on her head. "Good, I didn't kill her, and I doubt that I gave her a concussion." Ed sighed "Better go find Al."

Ed dragged Kath onto the couch in the living room, and decided it would be best to put his clothes on before going outside and looking for the other Elric. "Gee, I think it would be good to put my clothes on." Ed said to no one in particular. He dried himself off quickly, and jumped into his clean clothes. "Okay, It's Sunday, I think," Ed was counting on his fingers, for he hadn't been out of his dark room for… seven days. "Right, I went out last Sunday when Kath dragged me to her grandparents' house with Al. So Alphonse should be going to check on his underlings, and should have been there…" Ed checked his watch. "As of five minutes ago." So Edward went running out of the door, to run into Alphonse's back. "Umm, Ed, what's your hurry?" Al turned around and the alternate Winry peaked out from behind him. Ed relayed the information to them with a lot of blushing and extravagant hand movements.

* * *

"Damn, my head hurts… Wait, what the hell?" Kath looked around her and noticed one of her eyes was partially swollen shut. She was on the couch with Ed and Al looking at her like she was some caged animal at Central Park Zoo. "Shorty! This is all your fault!" Kath pretty much screamed. "For your information," Ed started until he realized that she called him short again. "DID YOU JUST CALL ME SHORT, YOU HALF PINT TOM BOY?!" Al sighed; they weren't going to stop for a while. It was a good thing that the Earth's Winry wasn't there or she'd whap them on their heads with her stethoscope. Kath got up to face him, eye to eye (they're the same height), and suddenly the room swirled around her. "Goddamnit…" she cursed softly, and sat back down on the couch and held her head in between her hands. The world seemed of its axis, somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees, constantly changing, making her even dizzier. She blacked out again. "Damnit, she fainted again. Oh, well!" Ed said, a little too cheerfully. Al massaged his brow, "Ed, please don't hurt her anymore, she doesn't need it." Ed gawked at his brother. "I didn't do anything, she started it!" **(immature much?) **Al shook his head. "Look, let's just leave her alone until she wakes up again. You can help in the kitchen." Ed shrugged. "Fine with me." 

**How was that? Okay, I hope! Review if you like, tell me what I did wrong. Can anyone guess whos Kath is? Any one who does gets a waffle (okay, not really)**


	2. A Simple Cake

Kath fought the pointless battle between wakefulness and sleep. When she finally became aware of her surroundings, she realized it wasn't morning and Al wasn't sleeping beside her. It was actually Mittens putting that extra weight on her chest and not Al's arm. The possessed bundle of evilness was fairly fat for a tabby and put a considerable amount of extra weight on her chest, and she tried to push the cat, if you could call him that, but he just hissed at her. Kath's face twisted into a snarl, and then she discovered that her head had a sizable bump on her forehead. The memories from earlier came rushing back and Kath blushed scarlet, though from anger or embarrassment she would never know. She got up quickly, and a bit too quickly for someone with a giant lump on their forehead and the world spun. Mittens jumped off just in time and Kath silently cursed. The cat just gave her a look that said 'You deserve it, idiot." She put her feet on the hard wooden floor and waited until the world righted itself and stopped spinning. When she found the earth's tilt satisfactory, she tiptoed towards the kitchen where she heard two grown men bickering like five year olds.

"Give me the spoon!"

"Sorry, but you can't stir worth a crap, dear brother!"

"Well, at least I didn't get eggshell in the batter!"

"IT WAS FOR TEXTURE! TEXTURE!"

"Sure, and I'm the Queen of England!"

"Really? Will you please hand me the margarine, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, shut up, Ed!"

It doesn't take much to figure out that these two men were Edward and Alphonse Elric. And, anyone with a little sense can deduce that the brothers aren't exactly made for the kitchen. Actually, the only thing they were good at cooking were military field rations, which only needed to be heated by a fire. So, no need to say, they hadn't learned the fine art of baking with a simple conventional oven.

Soon, both of the brothers had four all over them and Ed was on top of Al, hammering the spoon against Al's face, saying, "You want the spoon, do you? Well here you go!" Kath, in the middle of a silent laughing fit, let out something out like the bray of a donkey. Or maybe a seal. Or even a walrus.

This startled the brothers out of their mini wrestling match and Al looked around, looking very confused. He turned to his brother and asked "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

Ed shook his head, "No, I don't think a donkey would be running through New York, but a few Jackasses might."

Al rolled his eyes and said "Funny, brother." He got up, brushing off the remnants of flour from his shirt, and looked through the open kitchen door, looking from side to side before shrugging his shoulders.

As Al did this, Kath held her breath and tried not to laugh. To her relief, Alphonse didn't see her. "Come on Al, let's get this cake done before Kath wakes up, she might reward you with a kiss.", Ed said jokingly.

Al blushed scarlet. "Shut up, even though you're older, I'm taller." They had started to fight again. She sighed; those two would start fighting again in a few minutes. Kath walked up to the backs of the two brothers, but Ed saw her before she got up to them. He was about to say something when she put a finger to her lips. He gave a silent nod of approval and Kath advanced towards her prey. She put one of her hands on the spoon that Al had finally gotten from Ed and held the bowl with her other, so she had Al in a backwards hug. When their bodies touched Al gave a little start, but when started to speak he relaxed.

"You put the spoon in one hand and stir, and you take your other hand and hold the bowl." She whispered seductively. She showed him by putting her hands on his and gently moving them. "And make sure the cake isn't lumpy." Her voice was at its normal level now. Ed rolled his eyes at the two lovebirds, but felt something deep in the pit of his stomach. Was it jealousy? No, it was deep longing, longing for someone he thought that he would never see again.

Then something hit Ed. "Hey, Al, _Kathrin_, who's the cake for anyways?" he asked. They both bit there lips, clearly in deep thought. Then an idea popped into Kath's head.

She said, "Well, Dr. Winry Stoneburner is coming over for dinner today, so I thought 'Why not bake a cake?'"

Ed thought about this for a second and questioned, "Are you going to be forcing me to eat with you guys?"

Al rolled his eyes, Ed was being immature again, and retorted, "More like strongly suggest."

Ed's bangs covered his eyes and his voice was emotionless as he mumbled, "I'm going to be going out for a bit." And he dashed to the front door and borrowed Al's bike, peddling furiously away. Kath looked at Al and Al looked back at her and sighed. Kath gave him a questioning look, but Al just shook his head and went about cleaning the kitchen up.

When Ed finally gotten to where he wanted to be, he was in a small park and he absolutely broke down. He had been riding hard for about twenty minutes, trying to get away from that melancholy feeling of regret. The Winry of this world was nice enough, and even had a bit of a crush on him, but she would never be Winry Rockbell, his Winry. The Winry that he had finally figured out that he was in love with. But his past and his sadness caught up on him like the always do. Kath had just pushed the unavoidable truth on him. It was like a small personal rain cloud that followed him and him only. He pretty much toppled off of the bike, but he had gotten where he had wanted to be. A big oak tree that had a large overhanging branch with a wooden swing. He stumbled through his tears as he hide Al's bike, so no jerk would steal it. Then, he lurched into the swing and just sat and cried. He cried for Al, his mother, the people that he had killed, the people that he left behind, but most of all, for Winry, _his_ Winry.

It had been about thirty minutes when Kath found him, Al was still home, preparing a small dinner party. Ed was infinitesimal, disheveled pile of tears and self pity when Kath stumbled upon him. And I really mean, literally stumbled upon. In fact, she almost tripped over him. He was leaning up against the great oak, curled up in the fetal position, just about crying his heart out. Kath sat down next to him and leaned over. She wiggled nearer when she was acknowledged by a sniffling 'Go away'. She put a comforting arm around him and tugged him closer to her. Ed tried to push her away, but, Kath being Kath, just put her other arm around him and pulled him in a reassuring hug. He struggled for a bit, but he gave up when Kath murmured, "Do you want to talk about it?" She let him out of her hug and looked into his beaten, heartrending golden eyes. He turned away, unable to meat Kath's kind brown eyes, not after what he had done during the war. Kath started to reach towards his shoulder when he started to talk in a wavering whisper. "Yes."

**Okay sorry for the wiat and sorry it's so short. Next chapter should be up soon and longer.**


End file.
